1. Technical Field
The present disclosure relates to installing ground studs, and more particularly to installing ground studs in composite materials.
2. Description of Related Art
In electronic and electrical equipment, conductive surfaces must be grounded. A ground is a direct electrical connection to the earth, a connection to a particular point in an electrical or electronic circuit, or an indirect connection that operates as the result of capacitance between wireless equipment and the earth or a large mass of conductive material. Electrical grounding is important because it provides a reference voltage level (typically referred to as zero potential or ground potential) against which all other voltages in a system are established and measured.
An effective electrical ground connection also minimizes the susceptibility of equipment to interference, reduces the risk of equipment damage due to lightning, eliminates electrostatic buildup that can damage system components, and helps protect personnel who service and repair electrical, electronic, and computer systems. In effect, an electrical ground drains away any unwanted buildup of electrical charge. When a point is connected to a proper ground that point tends to stay at a constant voltage, regardless of what happens elsewhere in the circuit or system. The earth, which forms the ultimate ground, has the ability to absorb or dissipate an unlimited amount of electrical charge.
A ground can also be a connection to the main chassis of a piece of electronic or electrical equipment. In older appliances and in desktop computers, this is a metal plate, usually copper or aluminum. In some modern equipment, it is a foil run on the main printed circuit board, usually running around the periphery. It provides a point that can be considered to have zero voltage. All other circuit voltages (positive or negative) are measured or defined with respect to it. Ideally, all chassis grounds should lead to earth grounds.
If the electronic or electrical device is not grounded, electrostatic and precipitation static charges cannot bleed off and can develop to high levels causing either sparking around flammable areas or static arcing and noise which will appear on communication equipment. As such, it is important to ensure all electronic and electrical devices are grounded. As technology advances, some new materials lack a good electrical connection, thus making it difficult to ground the system.
Currently composite materials are beginning to be used in an increasing number of products ranging from simple consumer goods to advanced aerospace structures, such as airplanes. Although composite materials are conductive to some degree, they cannot achieve good electrical connection by incidental contact due to non-conductive outer surface layers of the composite build up. (Composite materials consist of two or more materials.) Therefore, what is needed is a system and method for installing a ground stud to composite materials to achieve low resistance grounding and achieve good electrical connections.